OTHER TECH

Day 3

7:30 AM: Wake to iPod. Good morning to you, Mr. Hootie and your Blowfish! 8:15 AM: Starbucks, venti latte. Not really very hot. Definitely not worth $5. Yet, I already know I'll get another tomorrow… 8:20 AM: I find myself in a fair sized cab line with nary a cab in sight. A group all headed to the same destination (the Sands Expo) decide to share a ride and split the cost of a town car. $12 spent, and many minutes saved. 8:45 AM: Roll into the press room at the Sands and check email and write for a bit. Run into Sound & Vision contributor Pete Pachal and he regales me with tales of the "big bag o' swag" that I missed at last evenings DEG party. It makes me sad in my heart. 9:45 AM: I decide to check out some of the exhibits in the Venetian rooms. Notable are Kaleidescape and Thiel. Thiel demonstrates a proof of concept system called ThielNet that will be available later in the year. It streams music to as many as 64 speakers wired or wirelessly. Each speaker can be configured as left or right or as any channel in a 7-channel home theater. Impressive. Most impressive. 11:00 AM: XStreamHD press conference. I'll be honest. I really only attended because Michael Douglas was going to be speak, but the concept sounds incredibly viable, and has me totally intrigued. If they can pool together enough movie studios to supply content, this will be a home run! Excited, I head over to the press room for lunch. 12:00 PM: I won't be completing a steak fajita hat trick. I enjoy a Caesar salad and chicken breast. The drink choices are hot coffee, hot tea and water. I would hurt someone for a Coke. 12:30 PM: Following lunch, I decide to use the press room computers. I jump on a machine where the previous user has neglected to log out of his email account. All the messages are in Italian, so I decide to look through a few. Harmless fun, right? Turns out the dude likes to take close-up shots of his ass and, err, junk with his cell phone, then send them to people. I can't log him out fast enough. Reading my own e-mail is far less exciting, but also much less hairy. 1:15 PM: I decide I'll walk up and down each aisle of the Sands Expo Convention Center. It's a daunting task, and my feet are already considering a rebellion, but for some masochistic reason, I've settled on the fact that it must be done. Most of the Sands Expo could be likened to Chinatown or Little Korea. There are many, many companies I've never heard of selling things like iPod cases, robots, CD/DVD replication facilities, cell phone accessories, and computer paraphernalia of all kinds. Halfway through the aisles, I wonder why I've challenged myself to see it all. Self has no answer. Then I spot an obscenely expensive gold and diamond encrusted Rolex on the arm of a guy running one of the booths. That watch can only belong to Bryan McLeod - the man who sold Harmony to Logitech and made mucho money. He's now involved in a new company that does automatic backup for computer disc drives. It sounds like a great idea. I joke that maybe Bryan will sell this company and buy a jet. He says, "Yes." 3:30 PM: There are several high-end companies exhibiting in the Venetian Tower suites, so I decide to check them out. First stop is Definitive Technology and their new, smaller Mythos ST tower speakers sound amazing. Equally amazing is the high roller suite they rent on the 35th floor. If you ever achieve high roller status, take comfort in the fact that you'll be staying in one sweet room. I take the elevator to the 34th floor for a guilty pleasure. Since I "discovered" them three years ago, I always seek out the TAD audio demo. Founder Andrew Jones was playing some of his favorite selections in high-resolution formats and it made my heart smile. All thoughts of grainy, close-up, Italian man-ass shots are forgotten. Grazie! The 30th floor housed Meridian, but sadly they weren't showing their awesome iPod dock from CEDIA. I dropped a card off at Sooloos, makers of one of the sweetest music server systems I've seen, and told them we want to set up a review of their system. Then I stopped into DCM Loudspeakers where I heard the finest sounding $1,000 towers I think I've ever experienced. The gentleman running the suite offers me a glass of nice Mondavi Cabernet, and I graciously accept. By "glass" he meant "plastic cup" but you know what they say about beggars. As I leave, someone from Siltech tells me I need to hear their speakers. I agree and head in. I listen to their hulking $130,000/pair Pantheon 25s. The source material is not very dynamic and surely doesn't show off the awesome potential (virtually flat to 10 hertz) that these speakers are capable of. I think I'd take the DCMs and the $129,000. Plus there is no offer of wine, plastic cup or otherwise. 4:30 PM: Fearing a long cab line, I decide to return to the hotel. Good news! There's a long cab line! More good news: I left my jacket back in my hotel! 5:00 PM: My cab is a technological marvel. The guy has the same iPod radio as my hotel room (I resist the urge for a quick docking), a SanDisk portable MP3 player, an XM satellite receiver and a laptop computer! I neglect to ask him his stance on the HD DVD / Blu-ray battle. Traffic is slow, but the conversation is good. He has seen every show in town, and describes them to me as we pass each hotel. He's a big fan of all the Cirque de Soleil performances. Fare $18, but I leave the cab smiling. 5:20 PM: An ever-so-brief respite before heading off to the Sound & Vision Editors' Choice awards event. I eagerly await some libations and food. Then some more libations. 6:00 PM: Arrive on the 64th floor of The Mix at The Hotel nightclub. The view is spectacular and so is the vodka selection. I start with a Ciroc martini. There are tons of people, but I spend the majority of my time with the folks from Philips and ReQuest who are there to accept awards for products I've reviewed. I sneak in a shot of black cherry infused vodka somewhere during the awards. As the evening winds down, I make the tragic mistake of ordering a water after the open bar is closed. Cost of a bottled water at The Mix? $8. I've enjoyed several bottles of wine for less than $8. However, none of them were on the 64th floor of a Vegas hotel. I savor every drop, then contemplate whether I should lick the condensation off the bottle. I decide against. It was without a doubt, the best $8 bottle of water I've ever had. 8:45 PM: The majority of the Sound & Vision staff heads down to a restaurant in the Mandalay for a big year end celebration. The waiter asks if we would like to try "duck fat fries." I respond, "What?" "Duck fat fries. French fries cooked in duck fat." Here is a man who clearly needs to learn how to sell the sizzle. I still try them. Tastes pretty much like regular fries. I'm sitting next to culinary expert Rob Medich who finds everything below par and labels the restaurant "bad." [Note from Rob Medich: I'm no culinary expert, but people did keep offering me a taste of their entrees, so I feel justified in my verdict.] Also at my table is "Installer of The Year" winner Chris Wylie. Chris is an ex-Navy SEAL, so I ask many a question about his time on the Teams. The service is slow, but the red wine keeps coming and before I know it, it's 11:45 and time to head up for bed. Tomorrow is the last day of the show, and it's already shaping up to be a busy one. Feet, don't fail me now!